Chapter Eleven – Calm Before The Storm

Jeremy left soon after the film to go and see his girlfriend Kat, while Hayley got a phone call from one of her sisters which she went upstairs to take. So that leaves Taylor and I sat cross-legged on Hayley's sofa in the basement, facing each other. I shouldn't still be nervous around him, but every time I see him butterflies are set loose in my stomach. At the nape of his neck his hair is blonde, flicking outwards, and before I can stop myself I reach out and twine my fingers through it. Taylor smiles, and if I didn't know better I'd think he was blushing. He slips his fingers through mine and I notice how warm his hands are. He leans forward and kisses me-

Then my phone rings.

I pull away from Taylor and sigh heavily because I know exactly who it is. It's my Mum. She said she'd call yesterday but she has no understanding of time zones, so when that call never came I knew she had somehow got confused. I flash Taylor a look of apology and answer my phone.

"Hi Mum," I say, injecting some cheerfulness into my voice. I shouldn't be annoyed about having to talk to my Mum, but she doesn't half have a knack for calling at the wrong times.

"Hi love, what are you up to?"

"Just with Taylor-" I immediately slap my hand over my mouth. Taylor looks at me with a confused expression.

"Who's Taylor? Is that a boy?" Mum quizzes me, getting noticeably more excited by the second.

"What, you haven't told her about me?" Taylor whispers at me.

"No," I whisper back, covering the receiver as Mum babbles on with her questions. Is he good-looking? How old is he? Where did I meet him? Etcetera etcetera.

Taylor pouts. "I'm offended."

"You don't know what she's like. She'll be trying to get you on the end of the phone in a minute, a barrage of questions at the ready."

Taylor grimaces. "Yeah, I don't think I'm ready for that."

"Callie!" I can hear Mum shouting down the phone. "Are you going to tell me about this boyfriend of yours or what?" I see she's already jumped to the conclusion of boyfriend. 'He' could be a 'she' for all she knows. I haven't told her anything.

"Mum, please don't do your usual," I groan at her. I can feel my cheeks heating up.

"And what would that be?"

"Your usual 20 Questions. I'd like it if you didn't scare him off. Besides, he's easily scared." Taylor pokes me hard on my arm and I squeal out an 'ow' as I laugh.

"Callie, I'm your mother, I'm meant to ask these things," Mum retorts.

"Alright, alright," I surrender.

"So..." Mum begins, drawing out the word with an expectant excitement. Maybe I should tell her that Taylor is a homeless man, that would get rid of her.

"Mum, not while he's sat opposite me," I whine, looking at Taylor sheepishly. He's just sat there grinning at me. "I'll call you later."

"Okay dear, don't forget!"

"I won't. Bye."

I end the call, Taylor still grinning at me. Scarlet blood refuses to drain from my cheeks. "Is your mom always that enthusiastic?" he asks me.

"Unfortunately, yes," I reply, giving him a look that says 'I am dreading the day she meets you'. Some day soon my family will be coming to Nashville to visit me, and if Taylor and I are still together (which I really hope we are) then my Mum will be harping on at me to introduce him. And I haven't even met Taylor's family yet.

"Have you told your family about me?" I ask him a little nervously.

Taylor bites his lip as he smiles. "They've kinda guessed. I'm not the best liar."

Suddenly, Hayley comes charging down the basement stairs, her ponytail bouncing around. "Storm warning!" she shouts, a mixture of anxiety and excitement on her face.

"What, a tornado?" Taylor asks.

"Seems like it," Hayley replies, scrolling through her phone at some news article or weather report. "You two can stay here if you want. I'll just text Jerm, make sure he and Kat know. Don't want them getting blown out of the restaurant."

"Wow, this'll be my first tornado," I say, not really knowing how I should feel. Excited? Scared? Nervous? Probably excitement until the tornado blows in, then I'll be burying my face in Taylor's shirt.

"Aww, I'll look after you!" Taylor says in a voice that you'd speak to a baby with, wrapping me in a bear hug so that the side of my face is squashed against his chest.

"Says the guy who's hand I had to hold during 'Creep'," I quip, but he only squeezes me harder.

Hayley hurries up the steps to the basement doors and pushes one of them open, poking her head out. I can hear the wind beginning to howl outside, whistling through the trees with portent of what's to come.

"Sure looks like a storm's on its way," Hayley calls down to us. Taylor finally releases me and we climb up the steps to stand by Hayley. The sky is an ominous grey, clouds a roiling mass from one end of the horizon to the other. I have to admit that I love storms. That feeling of portent is the one I like the most. But I don't know about tornadoes. Maybe I won't like them. After all, thunder and lightning and scudding rain is generally harmless. But 100mph winds?

Taylor looks down at me and grins. "Scared yet?"

I shrug, trying to look indifferent. "I'm a little nervous."

Taylor reaches out an arm to wrap around my shoulders as we continue to watch the clouds. Then Hayley spins around and says, "I'm checking on the TV."

We follow her back down into the basement, where she switches on the TV. And sure enough there's some news bulletin about a tornado. I'm now starting to feel a little anxious. Maybe the tornado will hit and I'll have a feasible excuse as to why I never phoned Mum back. Mum's 'boy talks' are scarier than a tornado.

An hour or so later, the tornado blows through. The hatch doors rattle and the light bulb flickers overhead. I don't know if the tornado is close to the house, but it certainly sounds like it . There was a tornado in Birmingham back in England once. It just waltzed down the streets. It wasn't very big and it didn't last too long, but it did some damage; it was all over the news. I grip Taylor's hand and he rubs my arm soothingly. Then my phone buzzes and I jump a mile. We all laugh a little nervously. I check my phone. It's a twitter update. 'Joshfarro87 is now following you on twitter!'. Oh great. Does he have nothing better to do during a tornado?